Cost-Efficient Ways to Keep Your Home Warm

It can be hard trying to figure out how to keep your home warm and comfortable in
the winter without emptying your bank account. Next time you go to turn on the heat,
consider these cost-efficient ways to keep your home warm first.

Weather-strip Doors: Doors not only allow cold air to get in, they
also allow heat to escape. Adding weather-stripping to your doors can help to prevent
both of these occurrences.

Caulk Windows: Similar to doors, your windows can also allow cold
air in and let warm air out, making it harder to keep your home warm. Caulking your
windows closes many access points for losing heat and gaining unwanted cold air.

To keep warm air inside of your home, consider adding more insulation, particularly
to your attic where heat rises and can escape.

Clean Ducts: You should have your heating ducts inspected and cleaned.
This will pay off in the long-run, since blocked heating ducts can cause you to
lose more than half of the heat that should be entering your home.

Add Insulation: To keep warm air inside of your home, consider
adding more insulation, particularly to your attic where heat rises and can easily
escape.

Wrap Your Boiler: For a fairly inexpensive price, you can purchase
a blanket designed to wrap around your water boiler. This extra insulation will
lower the amount of heat lost, lowering the amount of money you spend to heat your
water.

Program Your Thermostat: If you don't have a programmable thermostat,
consider investing in one. Programmable thermostats allow you to lower the temperature
in your house when you're at work or asleep. Turning down the heat at different
times throughout the day and night can amount to big savings. You can also look
into zone heating, which will heat the areas of your home you spend the most time
in, and lower the temperature in others. Never set your home temperature too low
in an attempt to save money, because this can cause your pipes to freeze and burst.

Reverse Your Fan: This is a simple and cost-free procedure that
can help to keep your home warm. By reversing your fan blades, you can blow air
up instead of down. This will gently circulate warm air that rises to the ceiling
throughout your home.

Keep Doors Closed and Blinds Open: Close all of your closet doors,
and doors to rooms you are not going to be using, such as a guest room. You can
also close the heat vents in these rooms. This will keep heat in the rooms you are
in, instead of wasting it on spaces you don't regularly occupy. In addition,
take advantage of the sun's heat by opening up blinds in rooms that face the sun.

Conduct a Home Energy Audit: A home energy audit, or assessment,
looks at the amount of energy your home consumes. This can help you gauge exactly
where you're spending your energy dollars, and where you could cut back. It
can also help you to identify potential problems with your heating system that may
be causing you to lose money, and possible ways to make your home more energy efficient.

Remember to think twice before turning up the thermostat and review these tips to
keep your home warm and save money.

This information is provided for your convenience; it is not intended as insurance
advice. The views, opinions, and advice expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and not those of Homesite Group Incorporated. Please consult your
insurance carrier or agent for information regarding your policy or coverages.